It's always been a popular question on New Year's Eve: 'is Jools Holland's Hootenanny live'?

Just like Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the Queen’s speech or a family disagreement, Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny has become a TV institution.

The popular programme is pre-recorded in early December, and the BBC have admitted the show is an "idealised New Year’s Eve party with a line-up that would surely be impossible to deliver on December 31".

Which when you think about it makes a lot of sense - the acts and the host must surely have parties they'll be planning to attend.

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The programme is due to air on BBC Two at 11.15pm on New Year’s Eve and is set to finish at around 1.45am.

This year he'll be seeing in 2019 with Michael Buble, Jess Glynne, Nile Rodgers, George Ezra, Marc Almond, Rudimental, Yola Carter, and the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Battalion Scots Guard.

Jools Holland entertaining the audience

The show is timed to line up with the realtime countdown to the New Year, though one year the BBC mistimed the broadcast - and instead of timing the countdown correctly there were mentions of New Year's Eve for quite a while after midnight.

The revelation that the show isn't a live broadcast first came to light in 2008 after the BBC received complaints from people saying they felt misled.

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So while a large number of people around the country count in the New Year with a glass of fizz in one hand and watching Jools Holland lead the celebrations - it turns out he's actually done all this weeks before and is probably celebrating with his loved ones.

Jools Holland's Hootenanny will air at 11.15pm on BBC Two on New Year's Eve (December 31).